One of the fun things about pork tenderloins is that you get two in a pack. This lets you make two different recipes at once if you are experimentally inclined.

For the brine:

I have a friend up in Michigan who sells some great brine mixes and dry rubs under the Mad Hunky brand name. He recently developed a brine specifically for pork which was used for these tenderloins. I made up a quart of the brine and let the tenderloins soak in the refrigerator for six hours.

Coffee Ancho and Smoked Paprika

For the dry rubs:
I used two very different dry rubs and was delighted with both; my favorite was the coffee rub.

Coffee and Ancho rub

3 Tbs coffee (grind the beans)

2 Tbs ancho chile powder

2 Tbs turbinado sugar

1 Tbs kosher salt

1 Tbs cumin

1 tsp granulated onion

1 tsp granulated garlic

Savory Smoked Paprika rub
This rub is my attempt at something similar to the Mad Hunky dry rub. The Mad Hunky product uses some spectacular smoked paprika and is highly recommended.

1 Tbs Smoked paprika

1 Tbs kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp granulated onion

1 tsp granulated garlic

1 tsp turbinado sugar

1 tsp Italian seasoning

The rubbed tenderloins were wrapped in plastic and put back in the refrigerator for an hour.

I baked these in a 350F oven for 40 minutes until an internal temperature of 147 was reached. Do not go by my time and temperature as no two ovens are the same. Go by the internal temperature of the tenderloin. If you don’t have a good digital thermometer then buy one now. This one is good, this one is better.

If you look at the tenderloin with the paprika rub you can see where it split open in a couple of spots. That guy was literally bursting with flavor.

The tenderloins got sliced up and served side by side. Both of them were incredibly juicy and fall apart tender. The brine did an excellent job.

Both of the rubs worked very well with the pork but the coffee rub was simply spectacular. This recipe is going in my “keeper” box! If you need a brine to use tonight then here are a few that you can whip up yourself. If you are planning ahead then you might want to give the Mad Hunky a visit. It never hurts to have a pantry stocked with a ready made brine mix.

This is actually a dish I made with a pork loin but I promise it would be equally great using pork tenderloin. I have also used this marinade on boneless, skinless chicken breasts with great success.

The marinade

1 eight oz can of pineapple (chunks or slices)

About an inch and a half of fresh ginger, peeled and rough chopped

Three tablespoons hot sauce (optional but highly recommended)

One tablespoon salt

½ cup water

The dry rub

Two teaspoons paprika

One teaspoon chili powder

One teaspoon salt

One teaspoon pepper

One teaspoon whole mustard seeds (optional but pretty)

When you are buying the pineapple I recommend getting a brand that packs the fruit in pineapple juice instead of corn syrup. I use a hand blender and pulse the mix until the ginger has gotten broken up and well incorporated. There are so many fibers in fresh ginger that this marinade will never get completely smooth. The end product will be a little thick.

I cut a two pound pork loin into five boneless chops. The chops and the marinade were mixed in a gallon zip-lock bag and placed in the refrigerator overnight. The next day I took the chops out of the marinade and patted them dry with paper towels.

Everything got coated in dry rub (mainly for color, the marinade makes them incredible flavorful) and rested on the counter for 15-20 minutes. You could bake these in the oven (I’d say 400F for 35-40 minutes) but it was a beautiful weekend so I grilled them instead. I grilled the chops on high heat for six minutes a side and they were perfect. Whether you bake of grill your pork use fast digital thermometer so you know when it’s done (150F internal temperature).

The aroma of ginger when you cook this is amazing and it is by far the most dominant flavor from the marinade. I hope you get to try this soon!